If you're still clinging on to the festive spirit, then you're in luck as I have only just got around to writing this post! These were all purchases from a recent trip to Amsterdam, which was absolutely beautiful and made even more so by the Festival of Light currently taking place across the city.

The main purchase was from the MAC Nutcracker Holiday collection - I went for the Red Retro Matte Kit. I was at first hesitant as I haven't seen many glowing reviews of the Nutcracker sets and even less of the Retro Matte Liquid Lipsticks since they launched. I was drawn in by the stunning purple and gold make up case and I was not disappointed with the contents.

The matte lipstick is a limited edition shade called Nutcracker Rouge - a light red with pink undertones. This isn't the most flattering shade on me but is long wearing and the classic matte formula you would expect from MAC.

The liquid lipstick is from the permanent collection and is the shade Fashion Legacy. Gorgeous true red shade - this has been my most worn red of the festive season. A lot of people find these too drying - I didn't have this problem, at least no more so than Kat Von D's liquid lipsticks and I actually found this to be more long wearing. I wore this for my Christmas party, which was essentially 12 hours of eating and drinking, and I only needed a couple of little touch ups on the centre of my lips. No crumbles or smears. Love this one.

The biggest surprise was the Upward Lash Mascara - I thought this would be a bit of a filler item but I have to say, I think this is my favourite mascara. I can't remember a product I have been so impressed with - this has been a game changer for me. It gives a great balance of length and volume and is really effortless to work with. Why do people never talk about MAC mascaras? I feel a bit cheated that I didn't know about this sooner!

Benefit Ka-Brow 4, CT Very Victoria, MAC Nutcracker Rouge, MAC Fashion Legacy

I also picked up a Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution lipstick in the light brown nude, Very Victoria. The packaging is pretty and has a real Hollywood glamour feel to it. I love the squared shape as it gives you a really defined edge to work with. It's creamy and feels hydrating - I just wouldn't call it matte. If you're a liquid lipstick devotee and are used to seeing your lips resemble a crushed velvet dress from the 1990s then this may not be your bag. It just doesn't have the pigment or the impact of a true matte lipstick. Yes, I'm sure it is better for my lips but if a product promises matte, I expect to have Instagramably suede lips.

Lastly, Ka-Brow! Not a Harry Potter spell but a brow pomade from Benefit. My first delve in to the world of pomades and an impressive one at that. Very easy to use, smooth and budge-proof. I have shade 4, which is a good ash brown but definitely on the dark side. There doesn't appear to be a mid-brown shade - shades 1, 2 and 3 are all light blondes or taupes with 4, 5 and 6 all dark brunette to ebony. Thankfully I can just about get away with shade 4 despite not (currently) having dark hair. The little brush you get is surprisingly good and I find this product much faster to achieve a bold and defined brow than a pencil or powder.

So, I definitely feel I have enriched my make up collection and I'm sure I'll be doing even more 'enriching' in the sales. Wishing you all a happy and adventure-filled 2017!

It's haul time! I rarely place a big order online, I usually just fill a basket up to an obscene amount of money and then never hit that 'checkout' button - just to see how expensive my tastes are. However, on a cold autumn night, bunkered in by myself (and almost definitely in a onesie), I took the plunge on some new goodies...

LA Splash Lip Lustre in Hestia, Art Ki Tekt Brow Pencil in Mocha, LA Girl Line Art in Intense Black

Hands up who's a control freak? Hands up who's incredibly picky and hard to please? If you put your hand up, and I know I did, then beauty subscription boxes may leave you feeling a little cold. I do love Birchbox but every month there is bound to be at least one item that I will never use and is left to collect dust in my expansive product stash. Thankfully, Birchbox's residency at Selfridges is back for 2016! You get to pick 5 products for yourself plus a beauty bonus for £15. It's currently at Oxford Street but last year they also hit other Selfridges locations so hopefully you'll be able to find one on your travels.

Here's what I got this year...

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics - Lip Tar Primer - RRP £12.50
As a liquid lipstick fanatic, the idea of primer to stop your lips drying out sounds pretty essential. This is a teeny tiny tube but one drop goes a long way. I have never tried anything from OCC before (as their Lip Tars are always sold out on Beauty Bay) but I'm looking forward to testing this out.

Spectrum Collections - Unicorn Tears Wonder Sponge - RRP £4.99
I've already had one of these and it was one of the best blending sponges I have found. I couldn't resist getting another, as blending sponges do have a lifespan before they start sprouting limbs and walking around your dressing table. This one has a really high quality feel compared to others in this price range but it's also one of the softest when dampened, making for flawless blending.

Caudalie - Glycolic Peel - RRP £22
Already being a fan of Caudalie, I went safe for my skincare item and it was also the first thing out of the box for a trial. This is really light exfoliating mask and left my sensitive skin feeling really smooth and not at all irritated.

anatomicals - Citrus Body Scrub - £4
The body care products were the most disappointing this year (self tan and essential oils not really being my thing) - in the end I plumped for this scrub. I love a citrus scent but I already have so many favourite body scrubs at home, this felt like a bit of a filler item for me.

Beauty Protector - Protect & Detangle - £18.50
I can't live without de-tangling sprays and as I already owned the other products in the hair care range, this was an obvious choice. Birchbox had some great brands available here though - Number 4, Parlor and Philip Kingsley have all featured in my hair care routine. We'll see how this Birchbox exclusive product fairs against the bigger names.

Beauty Bonus - Polka Dot Hair Tie
These ribbon hair ties don't generally stand a chance against my thick, long hair but they're just so cute I had to have one. I'm not here to make the sensible decisions!



Skincare and hair care definitely ruled this year in terms of the products on offer. The main drawback was the lack of new products - as a Birchbox subscriber for nearly two years, I found that I already had a lot of the samples available. For £15 I still found some products that I knew I would use and love but there was nothing ground breaking here. Except for the box, which is stunning holographic heaven.

Hey everyone. It's been a long long time since my last post as my final year of university took over my life. Good news though, I passed my exams, got a First in my dissertation (and an award nomination - eek!) and I'm back. Today, I'm very excited to bring you my latest brand discovery - NYX.

NYX is a US brand but has been available online for a while for us UK homebirds. Last month however, a NYX stand opened in a Boots near me and I just had to go and elbow my way through to pick up some goodies...

NYX Matte Finish Make Up Setting Spray - £7
Like many NYX products, I first heard about this from YouTuber Leighannsays. Claiming to help your make up last longer and at a fraction of the cost of it's MAC and Urban Decay counterparts. Unfortunately, the only thing I've noticed with this is that my foundation separates almost immediately - I have dry skin so I suspect it's not really designed for me, my make up tends to patch off rather than shine up. Have you tried this? Is there a trick to making this work?

NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Taupe/Ash - £5.50
Another Leighannsays recommendation, but with a little more success. This little kit includes two shades of brow powder, a clear brow wax, a tiny angled brush and an even cuter tiny spoolie. I really like the powders, great cool toned colours with a lot of impact. This kit is definitely for a softer finish and if you have full brows which just need a little boost I think this would work well. For me, I need some more heavy duty help for my sparse brows so I can't say my loyalty has been swayed from brow pencils. I'd also recommend investing in a better quality angle brush (I like my Real Techniques one).





NYX Sculpt & Highlight Face Duo in Taupe/Ivory - £9
This product has been the biggest revelation - always wary of cream contouring, I've stayed faithful to powder sculpting products. I am a big fan of this though. The contour side is the perfect cool toned taupe shade (there is a real mix of shades from cool to warm) and it blends beautifully, better than I could ever imagine. It's got great staying power too. The concealer/highlight side is okay, it's very creamy and fluid - best for highlighting rather than under the eye concealing.



NYX Baked Shadow in Easy Rider - £5
This is actually the first thing I picked up from the stand. The box is adorable, who could blame me? I swatched it and was very intrigued. This shade in particular is very sheer and glowing - reminding me instantly of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders. By no means as finely milled or an exact replica, I think the effect is comparable. If I want to be lit from within, I ignore the word 'eyeshadow' and lightly dust this to set my foundation. For £5 I think it's definitely worth a try if you've been resisting splurging on an Ambient Powder.

NYX Slide On Lip Pencil in Nude Suede Shoes - £5.50
Probably something NYX are most famed for now, their lip products. This liner is the perfect mauve/nude and has replaced my beloved Rimmel East End Snob for the moment. It's right in the middle of creamy and hard pencil - good for over-lining if you're so inclined but also just a really foolproof product. You get a good amount of product for the price too.

Top - Soft Matte Lip Cream in Stockholm Bottom - Slide On Lip Pencil in Nude Suede Shoes

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Stockholm - £5.50
Of course I had to buy this - I think of all the things we got excited about when NYX launched in the UK, this was number one. And... rightly so. I love this. I wear this almost every work day. It's light, comfortable, easy to wear. It's not drying or crumbly like a liquid lipstick can be but it's also not so creamy that it never sets down. It's an absolute winner, no wonder there were hardly any left on the shelf!

So, NYX is here and I'm very happy about it. It's such an affordable brand and it has a selection of products which most UK brands just don't make (loose powders, brow pomades, colour correctors...) AND, I popped by a few days ago and they have launched refillable eyeshadow palettes and eyeshadow singles which cost just £3.50. What have you tried from NYX? What are you excited to try out? Let me know in the comments.

x NSB x

Welcome back. Now, if you've been in the beauty loop for a while, you've almost certainly been hearing non-stop hype about Make Up Geek. MUG recently started being stocked by Beauty Bay making these products finally available to us UK dwellers without international shipping, tax and conversions. Happy days! This is what I picked up for my first order...









All of these shadows are well pigmented, the foiled and duochrome shades especially so. Almost all of these shadows are very smooth - Baby Face seems to cling in patches a little on me but I do have very dry skin.



The matte shades have quite a stiff formula (neither chalky nor buttery) - it's really easy to build up the colour and they blend out beautifully. You have a lot of control with these and the shades Desert Sands and Dirty Martini are just ones you never find in pre-made palettes.



The foiled and duochrome shadows are more buttery in texture, very soft with virtually no fall out, almost like a cream shadow. The foiled shadows have a more intense, metallic finish - not just a regular shimmer shade, these pack a punch (and a half).



The duochrome collection is very unique, with an amazing range of unusual shades which all combine two or more colours to create a multi-faceted effect. Voltage appears almost stark white in the pan but has become my favourite inner corner highlight - the yellow flecks catch the light and add warmth whilst still brightening my eyes.

MUG shadows come in every colour imaginable and retail on Beauty Bay for £4.95 for the original and duochrome shades and £7.95 for the foiled shades. They are sold as individual shadow pans so you do need a magnetic palette like a Z palette - I love my extra large leopard print Z palette (you can also get these on Beauty Bay and other brands on Amazon for less).

On the whole, I would say my favourites (and most used/recommended) are Barcelona Beach, Voltage, Dirty Martini, Prom Night and Jester. There are so many other colours I'm drawn to, I struggled to pick just ten for my first order -  to have a more affordable way to create a palette of handpicked shadows without the quality being compromised is a very good thing indeed.

Have you tried these shadows yet? Which colours are you coveting? Let me know in the comments!

Hey everyone. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! I know that not everybody likes these kind of posts but I personally really enjoy reading about what people got for Christmas (probably because I'm nosey!). I am so grateful for what I received this year, truly blessed and slightly taken aback by what I got. So, without further ado, here we go...



MAC Sheertone Blush in Breath of Plum
This is a really smooth pressed powder blush in a gorgeous pale plum. The colour is unlike anything else I own and I absolutely love it.



MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre
I have wanted this for a long time to use as an eye shadow base. It's yellow/cream tone evens out my skin tone and helps to counteract the redness of my skin. I've also found that it's much easier to build up bold colour on my lids using this as a base.



MAC Matte Lipsticks in Please Me + Honeylove
Just to round off the MAC collection I got two new matte finish lipsticks. Honeylove is just the perfect nude, not too pale, not too brown, just right for me. Please Me is an everyday pink - very wearable and flattering. Both of these formulas are so creamy and non-drying for a matte lipstick, I don't imagine these will be the only MAC lipsticks in my collection for long!



Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pink Venus
I think a lot of us had some CT products on our Christmas wish lists and I was lucky enough to get one of the Lip Cheat lip pencils. Pink Venus is a light coral/pink which works well paired with a nude lip to add some depth of colour or with a more classic pink. I can see this being a well used product as it applies smoothly and wears well.




Smashbox Masterclass Palette III Colour + Contour 
I've not seen great reviews about this palette but I asked for this regardless as I just couldn't resist what a fabulous selection this palette has - it's basically like a Fortnum & Mason chocolate box but with make up. You get the Smashbox contour, bronze and highlight trio, three blushes and 32 eye shadows in pretty much every colour and finish - it's a veritable haven for make up lovers. I'll be doing a full review of this but I have to say, so far, it's absolutely stunning and I cannot understand why more people aren't talking about this.



Urban Decay X Gwen Stefani Eye Shadow Palette
This was a total surprise waiting for me under the tree and what a gorgeous surprise! I've definitely been coveting this palette since it was released and as with the Smashbox palette, I'll no doubt do a full review of this soon. The range of soft neutrals in this palette make it great for everyday and so far the shadows are smooth and blend like a dream.



Real Techniques Bold Metals Essentials
I love RT brushes and I was on the hunt for a huge angled fluffy brush for blush - this paired with a smaller fluffy brush which I use for powder/highlighters and a fluffy shadow brush made this a perfect trio for my blending needs. These are so incredibly soft and stylish - I would always recommend RT brushes and these are no different.

So, those were my beauty gifts this festive season. If there are any you'd like me to write a detailed review on then please let me know in the comments.

Hey everyone. Today I thought I would share my thoughts on a few recent purchases - all lip products and all products purchased in a dupe quest for items on my MAC wish list. So, let's see what I found out...



I got one of the Make Up Revolution Amazing Lipsticks in the shade Nude - these are just £1 (!) so I have to say, my hopes were not high. I love a nude lip but it's so hard to find the perfect nude for your skin tone and I have pretty pigmented lips already so most nudes end up looking patchy or washing out my pale skin.This is a pretty nice formula - it's very creamy and is very comfortable. It's not super pigment, it's more of a wash of colour with a cream finish - I like that it's not too glossy (I'm a matte girl so I don't do well with satin or glossy finishes). I am lusting after MAC Creme Cup at the moment and this MUR shade is definitely not pink toned or pigmented enough to compare but for £1 it's a pretty nice and easy to wear option.



I also picked up the Rimmel Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick By Kate Moss in the shade 101 - a true rose pink. Side note - I love Kate Moss, I'd buy anything if her name was on it, she's still a goddess in my eyes. Anyway, when I first looked at this shade I immediately thought of MAC Please Me which has been top of my wishlist for a while now. I was eager to see if this was a dupe and colour wise, it's pretty much everything I hoped for; not too light, not too mauve-y, just right. On first application I was pretty happy with it, it's a very creamy formula and not at all drying for a matte lipstick. However, after around 3 - 4 hours, I notice this starts to wear kind of grainy on my lips - I do have quite dry skin and dry lips, especially in winter, but it's not a problem I've had with any of my beloved GOSH lipsticks. I'm disappointed with how it wore on me but the colour is absolutely gorgeous and it's just made me want to place a MAC order even more than I already did!



Whilst at the Rimmel stand I also got two of the Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liners - these are a beauty blogger favourite and I'd never tried them so I felt like it was only right. I got the shades You're All Mine (the perfect pink) and East End Snob (a rose/mauve). I love the formula of these, they really glide on and have a good punch of colour. East End Snob in particular is a very versatile shade and I've seen this compared to MAC Soar or Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk - I think the Rimmel one is less rose-toned than these two but it's pretty comparable. However, my one bug bear with these liners - the twist up pencil concept. It might just be me but I find these really hard to be precise with and would much prefer a normal pencil I could just sharpen. Maybe I'm old fashioned.

Overall, I don't think I did find a true dupe but I did find some pretty decent affordable options, if, like me, you're trying to tighten your purse strings in the run up to Christmas. My advice - pick up the MUR lipstick for £1 and start writing your letter to Santa!

NSB x

Hey everyone. I thought I would share with you my latest trip to a local discount "drugstore" - a chemist, that isn't a chemist because it doesn't actually sell medicine. It does however sell an array of beauty and hair products with some pretty decent deals at the moment! So, here's what I got:

Eylure Enchanted Lashes - Paid £2.99, RRP £5.39
I spotted these for just £2.99 and they were the only pair so I snapped them up immediately. I really like Eylure lashes and these are actually just what I've been looking for - longest lashes in the centre for that fanned out effect and not crazily long. Perfect!



Rimmel Lasting Finish Primer - Paid £4.98, RRP £6.99
I've been looking for a new primer and I used to really like one of Rimmel's primers way back when. I picked up this one although they also had the Fix & Perfect primer for the same price. It feels creamy and very smoothing so hopefully this will work for me (I'll keep you posted).

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation - Paid £4.98, RRP £7.99
I've seen that a lot of bloggers/vloggers are a fan of this foundation and I've been wanting to try it for a while so I was very pleased to find this on offer. It's a really nice neutral toned ivory and I know this sounds weird, but, I love the smell of Rimmel foundations. I've tried a few and they all have this same distinctive smell which whisks me straight back to 2007 and the days of Kate Moss and their Recover Foundation. Just me? Quite possibly.

Rimmel Soft Kohl Eyeliner Pencil in Pure White - Paid £2.98, RRP £2.99
I know saving a whole penny isn't exactly news worthy but I wanted a white eye pencil for my lower waterline so I picked one up. I very much hope this brightens my eyes up on these sleepy winter mornings!

Rimmel Brow This Way Clear Gel - Paid £3.98, RRP £3.99
Another penny, I know, I can buy a whole strawberry bonbon from the sweetshop (probably not any more, they've probably gone the way of the Freddo!). I used to always use a brow gel but I fell out of love with my tinted Maxfactor which just made my brows look weirdly glossy. I thought I would pick this up to see if it made any difference to my brow game - we'll see if I just need to shave them all off and start again (joking, don't panic).



Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Eternal Gold - Paid £4.48, RRP £4.99
I think one of my best finds today, even though it's only a small discount, it still helps me justify my spending. I've seen these cream shadows compared to MAC paint pots and I've also seen them used a lot in online tutorials as a base or in place of an eye primer. So, I just had to try one. They had a pretty good colour selection but I went with the light gold as most of my eye looks incorporate a shade of gold somewhere (I have an addiction, I'm getting help). It's pretty creamy and pigmented and I can see it working well under a foiled or glitter shadow.

Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner - Paid £3.98, RRP £5.99
You can never have too much eye liner (as the late and great Amy Winehouse proved) - this is felt tip style liner with a slim applicator for precision. The formula has good opacity and seems easy to work with so hopefully I'll be able to perfect my winged cat-eye at last!

In addition to this little Rimmel/Maybelline haul I picked up two hair colourants for a good price which I thought I'd quickly mention. I got the L'oreal Recital Preference in Chestnut Brown and the L'oreal Glam Highlights (for at home balayage, trust me, I'm a doctor).

All in all, I saved just under £14 (equivalent to three pints and a pub meal up North). I think you can definitely find some good deals in your local discount shop or chemist, you just need to have a little patience in seeking it out. I was actually looking for all of the things I purchased but it's also a great excuse to try something new if you see a good deal or a brand you're not familiar with.

I hope you enjoyed my little haul - now if you'll excuse me, I have some new products to play with!

NSB x